


Billy Kaplan's Homework Reading: A Fandom Research Guide

by DangerousCommieSubversive



Category: Meta - Fandom, Young Avengers
Genre: Education, Essays, Gen, Libraries, Magic, Research, fandom research guide, recommended reading
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2013-01-15
Updated: 2013-01-15
Packaged: 2017-11-25 13:55:39
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,770
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/639570
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/DangerousCommieSubversive/pseuds/DangerousCommieSubversive
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>An essay, or rather a research guide, for Young Avengers fans who want some reference material. Billy Kaplan <em>doesn't</em> know a whole ton about magic. He can seek out heroic (or villainous) sources of education, but if he wanted to do some independent research, what might he be reading?</p><p>UPDATE: Now with WorldCat links and website recommendations!</p>
            </blockquote>





	Billy Kaplan's Homework Reading: A Fandom Research Guide

**Author's Note:**

> I was initially just going to post this on [my Tumblr](http://dangerouscommiesubversive.tumblr.com/), but then I figured that it ought to get wider distribution. It _is_ useful information, and I do hunger to recommend books to people. ^_^

Billy Kaplan's Homework Reading: A Fandom Research Guide

 

So I'll be honest. I work retail. However, I am by choice and vocation a librarian (just finished my Master's, in fact), and I love to share books with people and help them learn new things. If you've been paying attention to this Tumblr or [my AO3 account](../../users/DangerousCommieSubversive) at all, though, you know that I'm _also_ a huge nerd. Currently I'm obsessed with _Young Avengers_ , particularly Billy Kaplan (because I have a diagnosable magic heroes _problem_ ), and I've been thinking and writing about, in part, his magical education. What would he be reading? What might he find that would further his understanding of modern magical practice outside of the hero sphere?

 

To keep my hand in at the whole “librarianship” thing, I put together this research guide for other fans. When I'm writing, I like to have a lot of interesting real-world things to work with and draw inspiration from, and magic is a particular interest of mine anyway—why not share the bounty?

 

These books should all be easily available. If they're not _at_ your local library (and they may not be), you can request them through interlibrary loan. You can also get most of them at your local bookstore or occult store, or on Amazon, in hard copy and digital. (If you _have_ a local occult store, go check it out even if you can't afford to buy much or anything. It'll be educational, and fun!) I can't promise you that I've read all of these personally, and it's _nowhere near_ comprehensive, but it should be a good place to start.

UPDATE: Now with WorldCat links (which you can also use to find places to buy each book) and website recommendations! I removed the Webdoc link, and instead simply included the website recs from it directly in this post.

 

So, what would be on Billy's shopping/library list?

 

— _ **Introductory Books About Wicca**_

Billy _calls_ himself “Wiccan,” but he's still not, as far as I can tell, an actual practicing Wiccan— _Kate_ came up with that name, if you recall. So it'd be reasonable to think that he'd want to do some reading about Wicca and the modern witchcraft religions.

 

 _[Wicca: A Guide for the Solitary Practioner](http://www.worldcat.org/oclc/18415840)_ , Scott Cunningham—This is one of the classic entry points for people interested in learning about Wicca. It's short, easy to read, and unintimidating; Cunningham's writing style is very fun.

 _[Where To Park Your Broomstick](http://www.worldcat.org/oclc/49711846)_ , Lauren Manoy; _[Teen Witch](http://www.worldcat.org/oclc/39281885)_ , Silver Ravenwolf; _[Elements of Witchcraft: Natural Magic for Teens](http://www.worldcat.org/oclc/51607573)_ , Ellen Dugan—These are all books _aimed_ at teen readers, and are the sort of book that someone at an occult bookstore would probably recommend to Billy. They're all pretty good, silly titles notwithstanding.

 _[Sons of the Goddess: A Young Man's Guide to Wicca](http://www.worldcat.org/oclc/56590821)_ and _[Gay Witchcraft: Empowering the Tribe](http://www.worldcat.org/oclc/51607379)_ , Christopher Penczak—A really _perceptive_ occult store employee would probably hand Billy these straightaway (or hand him the first book and ask politely if he might want the second one). Many books about Wicca have a very intense focus on the female experience and the Goddess; these books are both about being male and Wiccan and what that means in today's society.

 

— _ **History Books**_

He seems like a smart kid, right? So he might like these classics:

 

 _[Drawing Down The Moon](http://www.worldcat.org/oclc/14002866)_ , Margot Adler—which is a sociological text about the history of modern Wicca and paganism. It can be heavy reading, but it's absolutely fascinating once you get into it.

 _[The Triumph Of The Moon](http://www.worldcat.org/oclc/41452625)_ , Ronald Hutton—Another history book, which I have been intending to read for some time. Don't be intimidated by how thick it is!

 _[The Spiral Dance](http://www.worldcat.org/oclc/41488828)_ , Starhawk—In some ways this is almost a manifesto. It's a wonderful, fascinating book about women, witchcraft, and politics.

 _[Real Magic](http://www.worldcat.org/oclc/161698)_ , Isaac Bonewits—Bonewits made a lot of people mad, because he's _fabulously_ opinionated and grouchy. If I ever got to write a Dr. Strange comic, I'd probably base him in part on Isaac Bonewits. This book made, and makes, a lot of people very angry, and that's all the more reason to read it: it's full of judgment calls and opinion statements and a lot of interesting commentary.

 

— _ **A Good Book About Basic Magical Practice**_

There are almost too many of these to count, but if Billy browsed on the shelves for something that _looked_ good to start with, he'd probably grab:

 

 _[Buckland's Complete Book of Witchcraft](http://www.worldcat.org/oclc/821073119)_ , Raymond Buckland—Which is a whole course of study, with homework questions and everything

 _[Modern Magick: Twelve Lessons In The High Magickal Arts](http://www.worldcat.org/oclc/526116656)_ , Donald Michael Kraig—This one is about Golden Dawn-style ceremonial magic, which is a very different animal from Wicca (think Dr. Strange). It's a good book, but it might give Billy the wig, as ceremonial magic gets _very intense_

 

However, if he flipped through it and it _didn't_ freak him out it might lead him to:

— _ **Qabalah (yes I know there are like five ways to spell it)**_

Billy _is_ Jewish, after all, and Judaism has its own mystical traditions. On the occult shelves at Barnes  & Noble he'd probably find:

 

 _[A Garden of Pomegranates](http://www.worldcat.org/oclc/40174651)_ , Israel Regardie—Which is _great_ if you can get through his occasionally eye-crossing verbiage and through to the actual mysticism.

 

If he asked his parents or a rabbi, however, they might recommend:

 

 _[God Is A Verb: Kabbalah and the Practice of Mystical Judaism](http://www.worldcat.org/oclc/36590065)_ , Rabbi David A. Cooper—Because it's a good introduction from an actual _Jewish_ perspective (Regardie was not Jewish, and his qabalah—the Golden Dawn qabalah—differs radically from the Jewish form).

 

— _ **Books About Chaos Magic And Postmodernism**_

Because...well. Wanda. The practice of chaos magic is _not_ the same as what gets called “chaos energy” in comics, but the name is there, and I suspect he'd feel obligated to check it out.

 

 _[Liber Null& Psychonaut](http://www.worldcat.org/oclc/14243297)_ , Peter Carroll—This would almost _certainly_ freak him out. It's a very weird book. The more accessible introductions to chaos magic are:

 _[Condensed Chaos](http://www.worldcat.org/oclc/33950342)_ and _[Prime Chaos](http://www.worldcat.org/oclc/42687914)_ , Phil Hine—Which are wonderful to read, sometimes funny, and much more matter-of-fact and less obtuse.

 _[City Magick](http://www.worldcat.org/oclc/793689554)_ , Christopher Penczak—This is not _strictly_ about chaos magic, but covers many of the same topics as books that are. It's also about, as the title suggests, the art of practicing magic in a large city away from uncontained nature, which I'm pretty certain Billy would want to know about.

 _[Postmodern Magic](http://www.worldcat.org/oclc/57342281)_ , Patrick Dunn—Dunn is primarily a linguist, which means that I personally could absolutely drown myself in his work. The big thing, though, is that this book has a refreshing academic perspective on magic, and a lot of meditative exercises that Billy would certainly find helpful.

 

— _ **Books About Specific Magical Practices**_

We're not going to get too granular here, because none of us have all day, and once you start looking at the more general books you get scads of wonderful recommendations in their appendixes and bibliographies. But here are a few things he might be interested in.

 

 **Tarot:** _[Tarot Made Easy](http://www.worldcat.org/oclc/18519842)_ , Nancy Garen—Not the _best_ book to learn Tarot, but a good starting point.

 **Rune magic:** _[Futhark](http://www.worldcat.org/oclc/11518898)_ , Edred Thorsson; _[Taking Up The Runes](http://www.worldcat.org/oclc/57625763)_ , Diana Paxson; _[Helrunar](http://www.worldcat.org/oclc/39380858)_ , Jan Fries—Are _all_ good books about rune magic, from different perspectives. (My fav is _Helrunar_ , but you have to be prepared to read 150 pages about the development of art and society. He'd probably come to it later.) There's also _[The Book of Runes](http://www.worldcat.org/oclc/28376723)_ , by Ralph Blum, which is really easy to find and typically comes with a rune set, but it's not very good.

 **Sigil magic:** [_Practical Sigil Magic_](http://www.worldcat.org/oclc/733229334), Frater U.D.: Sigils come up a lot in books on chaos magic. They're easy to use and interesting to create. This book goes in and out of print with alarming speed, but if Billy can find it, it's a very quick, easy, educational read.

 

— ** _A Book With_ Really Good _Bibliographies_**

Last but not least. This is a book that Billy would probably see and pick up anyway, and I'm giving it its own spot because, while I don't think it's the best intro out there, it has some of the best bibliographies and recommended reading lists I've ever seen. It's a _great_ jumping off point.

 

 _[Solitary Witch](http://www.worldcat.org/oclc/50477166)_ , Silver Ravenwolf—It's very much like an encyclopedia. Not as comprehensive as that implies, but it's really easy to look up basic intros about a lot of subjects in here, and, as I said— _great_ recommended reading lists.

 

\--

 

**With bonus: Billy Kaplan's Browser History!**

 

When I first wrote this research guide, I unwisely forgot to include any _websites_ , which was silly of me. So here are a few websites he might find interesting.

 

— _ **Modern Magic**_

 

[The Witches' Voice](http://www.witchvox.com/)\--A long-running news and essay website for witches and Pagans. They invite essay and poetry submissions from teens, and also host a directory that you can use to find local Pagan groups, websites, and stores near your home.

[Circle Sanctuary](http://www.circlesanctuary.org/)\--Circle Sanctuary is a group based in Wisconsin. They run a Wiccan/Pagan cemetery, do charity work, run military ministries, and publish both Circle Magazine and the Circle Guide to Pagan Resources, a directory of groups, centers, festivals, and other useful information. Their website also has a number of articles about Wiccan practice and their teachings specifically.

[Pagan Pride](http://www.paganpride.org/)\--The Pagan Pride Organization sponsors public rituals and charity work, mostly in the Americas and Europe. You can go through their website to find out about Pagan Pride events in your area.

[Paganism & Wicca at About.com](http://paganwiccan.about.com/)\--For tons of short-subject articles, more recommended reading, book reviews, and group listings, this is really the go-to site. Don't assume everything is authoritative, since they do have a lot of writers, but if you want some quick information, go straight here.

 

_**Old-School Magic** _

 

[Internet Sacred Texts Archive](http://www.sacred-texts.com/)—My very favorite website. Not only does it have a lot of information on Wicca and paganism, you can find fascinating information about most _other_ world religions as well. Dive in and have fun!

[Twilit Grotto Esoteric Archives](http://www.esotericarchives.com/)—This is for if you're in more of a Dr. Strange mood. It's strictly occult-based, instead of being about religion in general, and not all of the texts are in English. It _is,_ however, _fascinating._

[The Hermetic Library](http://hermetic.com/)—This website is more “modern,” in that the texts it hosts aren't _very_ old, but they are mostly from the turn of the last century and just post. Among other things, you can find the writings of Aleister Crowley on here! They're not _terribly_ exciting, honestly; mostly he's just confusing.

**Author's Note:**

> And thus ends my very first Fandom Research Guide. I hope you enjoyed it--if you did, please do let me know!
> 
> if you have any questions, please leave a comment, or stop by my Tumblr and [shoot me an ask](http://dangerouscommiesubversive.tumblr.com/ask), and I'll do my best to answer you (probably in more detail than you require). My big question is: this was very fun to put together, and I'd like to make another one. Is there a fandom topic _you'd_ like a research guide on?


End file.
